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The Houston Astros have the most inexperience of any Major League Baseball club, which is good and bad for many reasons. One of the reasons it is good is because many top prospects in the organization have a legitimate shot of claiming a roster spot, including outfielder George Springer.
Springer is a long shot to make Houston’s Opening Day roster, but if there was ever a team to allow a long shot to walk on it is the 2013 Astros. The right-handed batter was selected 11th overall by Houston in the 2011 MLB Draft. He has spent time in three different levels in the minors, finishing in Double-A last season. He batted .219 with two home runs and five RBIs in 81 at-bats with the Astros affiliate in the Texas League.
Since he did not overwhelm people with his numbers, there was no reason to believe he would do anything special in camp, but Houston decided it would be appropriate to give him a shot in Spring Training considering the team can use all the help they can get.
Springer decided to showcase his talents against the Toronto Blue Jays in an exhibition game. The 23-year-old blasted a three-run homer in the fourth inning and a two-run shot in the fifth against two different Toronto pitchers to help the Astros defeat the Blue Jays 10-1. Houston had 18 total hits, which is a rarity for them considering they finished second-to-last in batting average last season.
The Connecticut native is batting .500 with two home runs, seven RBIs, two walks and four runs scored in six at-bats this spring. The Astros already have an overwhelming amount of outfield prospects in camp, but I have no idea how the team does not find a spot on the 25-man roster for Springer.
